A man of action is always valuable

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

The crust of a university does not guarantee success in life. In order to become a sought-after master and find clients in the modern information world, higher education is not required. If you strive to always do what you are doing with the highest quality, the result will not be long in coming.

Blue-collar jobs are gradually losing their marginal status. If six years ago only 10% of graduates entered technical schools and colleges, and 80% stormed universities, then this year, according to Superjob, 23% of schoolchildren will go to secondary education and 48% higher.

In addition, some university degree holders subsequently retrain as carpenters, realizing that manual work can bring more pleasure and money. So, the average salary in Moscow is now about 66 thousand rubles. But plumbers, electricians, or car mechanics taking private orders can make $ 100,000 or more. The Village found such workers and learned how they manage to earn so much and how much they have to work for this.

Ruslan Sedykh, plumber-installer

“After working for almost four years, I realized that I don’t want to wear a suit anymore, I don’t want to do this same type of work,

but I want to create and be free"

I graduated from the institute with a degree in microsystem engineering. After graduating from the institute, he stayed to work at the research institute, where he did an internship and did a graduation project. It was interesting to work there, but income and constant communication with pensioners drove me into depression. At that time, I was interested in a job where you can make good money quickly enough. Then I thought the only way was to become a sales manager. After several months of searching, I was hired by a company that sold banking equipment. And despite the fact that everyone says that being a manager sucks, I really liked it. I immediately learned how sales are structured, what to look for, how to communicate with a client, and so on.

After working for almost four years, I realized that I don't want to wear a suit anymore, I don't want to do this work of the same type, but I want to create and be free. While still sitting in the office, I read The Village, where they wrote about different guys who went about their business. They talked about their victories and how hard they achieved them. All this interested me very much. Therefore, I slowly began to think in which direction to develop.

I chose the furniture for a reason. The fact is that personally I have always had problems with her. Either the leg breaks at the chair, then it is cramped, then it looks somehow wrong, then the chipboard smells so strong that there is nothing to breathe in the room. Apparently, my technical savvy and experience in sales allowed me to start quite successfully from the workshop. I invested quite a bit of money, about 25 thousand rubles, which was enough to rent a warm garage and buy a basic tool.

During the work of the workshop, I have never been looking for clients. I would say that this is a successful chain of interrelated events that allows you to be in business all the time. Word of mouth has been working for several years, so each client perfectly understands where he is turning and what he will get in the end. It seems to me that people who go to the workshop receive not only finished furniture, but also the energy and message that are laid down, and most importantly - the pleasure of the process.

All my projects are individual (photos of the works can be viewed on my instagram), that is, the form, design, size are discussed with the customer. Recently, apartments are being sold with free layouts, and many people turn to the workshop to order an interior item for themselves.

After working in sales and communicating with various people who have their own business, I formed the opinion that in Russia many people work for their own profit. Moreover, many want to simplify this moment so much that they ask clients for a clear technical specification and are not always ready to give advice and help decide how to do it better. I try to organize my work differently. After installing the furniture, I am always in touch with my customers, often I can redo something if, for example, their interior has changed. I am always happy to talk with the customer, discuss details, meet to get in the mood and understand what the person wants to get.

There is no standard cost of furniture, you can use different materials, sizes, but it definitely includes rent, cost of materials, salaries, depreciation of equipment. In fact, this is a complex formula that allows you to keep the workshop in working order and earn money. Lately, I have been trying to make objects out of hardwood. It is more pleasant to work with such material, and the furniture will last longer. If we take the standard dimensions of a dining table and use ash, oak or beech for its manufacture, then its cost will be from 60 thousand to 90 thousand rubles, depending on the details and material of the underframe.

When you start your own business, you need to be constantly involved in the process, for example, often work on weekends. Now I work alone, but I understand that I could have done more if I had a team. My income is unstable, it dances from 80 thousand to 150 thousand rubles, since there are some orders that last a month or more. I try to plan orders in advance, this allows me to predict income for the next month or two. In general, I am happy with the current situation, despite the fact that there are a large number of workshops on the market.

There are certain costs associated with manufacturing each order. With experience, it becomes easier to have in stock all the necessary consumables (grinding discs, fasteners, rollers, brushes, oils, varnishes, glue) so as not to be distracted by purchases and to create practically in the workshop. Naturally, the entire tool requires maintenance, it is necessary to monitor its serviceability so that a breakdown does not stop the processes. I try to buy new equipment every six months to make it easier to work and make some elements of higher quality. This allows you to constantly develop and take on more interesting orders.

It seems to me that the crisis even suits me. Ordering furniture from Europe taking into account the course is now quite expensive. In addition, many manufacturers have long production times, and a lot of time is spent on delivery. There is a demand for furniture and interior items of domestic production. I don't think that people who want to hit a big jackpot in a short time will be happy with the current situation, but I am 100% sure that guys who want to try their hand at carpentry will be able to achieve success.

Recently, projects are quite large, and customers like massive materials, so I often call my friends to help them boot up and come with me to the editing. For example, a vanity unit in a bathroom weighs about 50 kilograms. It's hard, but I've learned to see the pros in everything. But you don't have to go to the gym!

I recently became a dad, so I try to spend all my free time with my family. We go for a walk, go to nature, meet with friends. Now my workshop is my hobby. If I want to distract myself a little, I make interior items for myself, try new materials, painting methods. It seems to me that in this direction you can hone your skills endlessly.

Konstantin Kalnov, electrician

“In most cases, a person who claims to know how to plaster, lay tiles, make plumbing and electrics, does not know how to do anything efficiently "

I studied software for automated systems. There is still an incomplete higher education in finance. In my institute years, I almost accidentally got to a construction site. My father attracted me - it was such an accustoming of a person to work and to his own money. And little by little it dragged on, as they say. At first, my father and I specialized in electrical engineering, then we went completely into electrical installation. I have been doing this for ten years. At first we worked for a construction company, then there was a break when I worked in a restaurant, and about three years ago we started a family business.

The first clients were some acquaintances who needed to make an electrician in the apartment. Then I saw information about an Internet site that brings together masters and customers. I posted a questionnaire there, slowly untwisted it, adding photographs of works - orders were sent from there. Then I started collecting reviews and video reviews. Now all orders come from the Internet - from forums of newly built houses, thematic sites and my website.

Photos of works are a whole story. Customers have become more savvy now: they look on the Internet, start looking for how the work should be done. Bloggers have appeared who tell and show what a good electrical installation should look like, how to make a screed correctly, and what tool professional craftsmen should work with. There is a large amount of construction site content, training videos. People look at this and look for masters for themselves.

Clients who contact us are those who have bought or are building housing for themselves. 80% of apartments are new buildings. The rest are those apartments in which major repairs have begun. People are gradually abandoning teams that do everything. In most cases, a person who claims to be able to plaster, lay tiles, do plumbing and electrics does not know how to do anything qualitatively, otherwise he would specialize in one thing. For each job, a specialized tool is needed - in an electrician, one cannot do without a wall chaser and a vacuum cleaner. At first we had cheap tools, then they burned out, and we decided to buy good ones. We dug up a little and bought first a wall chaser, then a vacuum cleaner, a pistol, a hammer drill - one, two, three. Over time, we have acquired a large number of tools that speed up work five to ten times. Without it, it is almost impossible to fulfill orders professionally.

The work begins with the customer describing how he sees the electrical installation in the apartment. If there is a design project, or an electrical project, then the customer sends it by mail. I estimate how much the work will cost. Electrical installation is divided into two parts - roughing and finishing stages of work. The economy version of the rough stage of work in a one-room apartment costs about 30 thousand rubles. If done more conveniently, in a modern way, it will cost in the region of 40-45 thousand. We can do this work in three to four days. The cost of materials is about the same. If the customer is not afraid of the amount, then I calculate the estimate point by point.

The working day starts when I wake up. Since there are traffic jams in Moscow, we leave the facility at 09:00. We spend the whole day there, we are released at 19:00. When I come home, I open my computer and start calculating estimates, drawing up acts for either a new or an old facility. This continues until 22: 00-23: 00. Usually in the evening there are also some agreements with the customer by mail or by phone. Photo reports take a lot of time: I try to photograph how the work is going and send it to customers.

Interaction with the customer begins three weeks before the start of the visit to the facility. It turns out that I have formed a work for the next two weeks and a horizon of orders for a month in advance. There are no days off for one simple reason: 80% of customers work in office mode and are ready to meet at the facility only on weekends. It turns out work seven days a week and almost 24 hours. There is no graphics at all.

Weekends are rare - at best, one or two days in two weeks. Sometimes we go as a family to a park, a restaurant or a movie. We get out of town when friends arrive. A particularly interesting holiday does not happen, because we have a task to build a house - we recently acquired a plot in the Moscow region. Sometimes the weekend turns out to be unplanned, when you are so tired that you cannot get up in the morning.

Construction is physically demanding work. The tool we work with weighs seven to eight kilograms. It's practically dumbbell work. For six hours of installation work, you get tired so that your hands do not rise. But this does not happen at all stages of work.

In construction, a professional in his field - it does not matter if it is a plumber or an electrician, tiler, plasterboard worker, painter - if he knows how to work well and quickly, he earns from 100 thousand rubles. A good master can earn from 3 thousand to 7 thousand rubles a day. Then everything depends on the number of objects. For a team of two or three people, we earn 200-300 thousand rubles. If this is a high season, as now, when we have made two houses and an apartment, then it turns out about 400 thousand rubles. For a working craftsman, these amounts are the ceiling. Then people no longer work with their hands, but organize the process of work of other people, that is, they move to the position of a team leader, intermediary or head of the company. When a person earns 150 thousand rubles as a hired manager and when he works for himself, these are two different situations. If you work for yourself, you spend money on gasoline, consumables, tools. Expenses are usually not counted because they are alone in one month and more or less in the next.

Denis Generalov, carpenter

“I know that the crisis knocked out many joiners. But it did not affect us. The client appreciates the quality, and whoever is fine with it, the crisis did not affect them"

I am 29 years old. I have two educations and two specialties. The first one is accreditation of transportation by railway transport, the second one is an economist. I am a versatile and restless person, so I always tried to find an interesting movement, my own business. When I traveled around Lake Baikal, there I was introduced to people - the descendants of Old Believers who are engaged in woodworking. I thought: why not develop this direction in Moscow? I began to cooperate with them. They had an interesting approach: they collected roots, saw cuts of flooded larch from the bottom of Lake Baikal, made furniture, sent it to me, and I sold it. That was four years ago.

In parallel, I began to study Japanese literature. The Japanese take wood very seriously. Added to this is their aged character, which can be compared to aged wood. It all interested me, and I realized that the woodworking industry is mine. I thought that something new, of high quality should be introduced in Russia. My partner became a friend with whom we played sports for many years. In general, if you play sports in life, then there is discipline in your head, which means in business and everywhere. This leads to success. Then everything remains to be fixed - we rented a room, bought machines and started.

The first client came through the site. We have completely equipped a bathhouse for him, we still have a pleasant relationship with him. Gradually, the site began to be filled with new works. At the same time, we developed accounts on Instagram, Facebook and other social networks. We started to create a team, because the most important thing in our business is to find people who will also produce high-quality furniture. We now have 15 craftsmen.

At first, we were practically alone in our market in terms of eco-direction. Now the number of competitors has grown tenfold. 90% of clients who come stay with us. We delivered our furniture to 30 cities of Russia, including Khabarovsk and Vladivostok, and also opened several representative offices in different cities of Russia and Europe. We educate the youth: students come to us, then they start their own business, and someone stays behind.

The most important thing about wood is the tactile sense of quality. You should never be able to identify from a photo or from descriptions on the site in the spirit of "What great guys we are."You can't compare prices - why some countertops cost 20 thousand rubles, while others have 100 thousand. You need to communicate, touch and see examples of work and materials. Our most favorite direction is slab tables (longitudinal cuts. - Ed.) Of trees and eco-style furniture. They are ordered by designers and individuals. The table top costs about 100 thousand rubles.

I know that the crisis knocked out many joiners. But it did not affect us. The client appreciates the quality, and for those who are fine with this, the crisis did not affect them. On the contrary, he knocked out people with a shaky reputation from the market. My income starts from 300 thousand rubles. But I never chased after money. It used to be that we sold one table or one bed, and invested all the money, for example, in participating in a design conference. And then they just waited for another order. Now, of course, another stage. We need to further develop and invest in production.

It is very creative but also very hard work. There is free time only in the evening, for example, to go in for sports. It looks like this: you come home, your wife asks: "What, do you still have strength for sports?" I go to the gym, and there I rest in my own way. I myself accept all applications, orders and calls, so rest in the hall is a must. Day off - Sunday - I spend with my family.

I believe that any business will start from scratch if the approach is correct. In my business, the most important thing is that a person has the inspiration to convey the course of nature to the client's house. I choose a tree myself and understand which project I am choosing, I offer a vision to the client. In 90% of cases, the client is happy with the result. Now there is little time left to work with my hands, but I am constantly in production - every day, seven days a week.

Alexander Klyuev, performer of the category "household repairs"

online service YouDo.com

I am 24 years old. Since the age of 16 I have been in Moscow and have been working on a construction site. After I was laid off at work - the time is not the best - I took up the tool and started looking for covens. An acquaintance suggested trying YouDo service. I registered and have been working through this service for about a year now. I carry out minor tasks - such as assembling furniture, minor repairs for a day or two, where you need, for example, to glue the wallpaper, lay laminate flooring, make stretch ceilings.

The people I work with are beginning to recommend me to their friends and acquaintances. They are already turning when they see my work. Usually young girls, calling the master, do not know who will come to them. They have girlfriends whom they can recommend a good proven person without any silly thoughts in their heads. Quests are rarely alike. Only furniture assembly is often ordered. The minimum price for such work is 1,400 rubles.

The service has information about me, reviews and works. The customer leaves an assignment to which I or other performers can post their proposals. You may not always be chosen. Customers choose me in about one out of five cases. It all depends on statistics and ratings. Now my rating has dropped a little, because there were long-term orders, and I did not appear on YouDo much. People, of course, choose those with higher ratings.

I usually write shortly, culturally and directly: “Good afternoon! I am ready to fulfill your task at a convenient time for you. The tool is there, the details can be discussed over the phone. The tasks are all different: there are those that are worth taking on, there are not. There are many tasks in the suburbs, and I am a pedestrian.

Most often they are called to secondary housing. Therefore, I do not always take on the plumbing - it is there in a terrible state. You can touch something once again and not make money, but get paid. I look at the reviews: if there is negative feedback from the customer, then it scares away.

My schedule is very flexible. I can sit and rest, then see a good assignment and leave an offer. They choose me, I take a backpack and go to make food. If the work is big, for example, renovating an apartment or a room, then I work for a week seven days a week. Or, if I'm working on a renovation for two or three weeks, I take a couple of days off. If I work on small orders, it can be anything - for example, five in two, or I work on Sunday and rest on Monday. I am my own master.

It also happens when there is no work. Before the crisis, when I worked as a foreman, I had my own clients, my own apartments and my own repair teams. With the crisis, price tags fell - people do not have so much money for apartment renovations.

I don't notice the seasonality when working with the service. In January and February, I had so many jobs that I didn't even think where to look for the next one. Although in an ordinary construction site, these are sedentary months, if an agreement is not concluded before the New Year.

No job scares me. The main thing is to make money. Now the foreman gets much less than before: about 50-55 thousand rubles. And in this work he has many responsibilities, and he has little free time - he can work on weekends and stay late after work. On average, I get 75 thousand rubles. It all depends on how you worked: there are months when more than 100 thousand rubles come out.

I compete with other artists. Often they put very minimal amounts, knocking down the price tag for themselves. People are ready to do work on the other side of Moscow for almost 500 rubles, where they can get on three reindeer. They make themselves less wages, and the rest of the prices are interrupted.

I set myself a plan for the month. I have a certain living wage - to pay for a rented apartment, food, internet, and so on. I earn in such a way as to cover expenses and leave more reserve. If there is time and money, then I go to rest. Maybe even for a week. I love fishing, now the season has come.